THE FIRST INDIGENOUS VACCINE AGAINST DENGUE

Drug makers Serum Institute of India and Panacea Biotec are moving closer to develop the country’s first vaccine against dengue.
They have applied to the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) call for ‘Expression of Interest’ for collaborative Phase-III clinical trials for indigenous manufacturers.
Phase-III clinical trial is being done for evaluation of efficacy, along with safety and immunogenicity of tetravalent dengue vaccine.
The desirable characteristics of a dengue vaccine includes:
Acceptable short and long-term safety profile (no antibody dependent enhancement).
Inducing protection against all four serotypes of dengue.
Reducing risk of severe diseases and deaths.
Inducing a sustained immune response and effectiveness irrespective of the earlier sero-status and age of the individual.

The risk posed by Dengue:

The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically with about half of the world’s population now at risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified dengue to be one among the top ten global health threats in 2019.
As of now, there is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop effective vaccines against dengue viral disease.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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